The Nanaimo Canoe and Kayak Club masters women’s outrigger team navigated rough seas to defend their national championship.
The paddlers finished first in the six-person outrigger canoe race at the Canadian Outrigger Association Championships at Vancouver’s Jericho Park on Aug. 13. With the win, the team also clinched the association’s points title.
Steers person Ruth Matson said several of the competing vessels “hullied” – tipped over – or had to call for assistance on the way to Passage Island and back.
“It was horrendous water,” she said. “The winds and currents, when they meet, the waves just stand there.”
Her team’s training, which involves chasing waves and trying to build strength and endurance, helped make a difference, she said.
Matson’s teammates are Aini Kynoch, Terry Malbon, Mary Jane Hudson, Del McCumber, Karri Tulz and spare Lorri Kobitz.
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